Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. Betanin and vulgaxanthin are the two best-studied betalains from beets, and both have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. The detox support provided by betalains includes support of some especially important Phase 2 detox steps involving glutathione. Although you can see these betalain pigments in other foods (like the stems of chard or rhubarb), the concentration of betalains in the peel and flesh of beets gives you an unexpectedly great opportunity for these health benefits.

Ingredients:

2 medium beets chopped

1 handful strawberries fresh or frozen

1/2 avocado

2 handful spinach leaves

1 banana

1 piece of fresh ginger

3 cups rice, oat or almond milk

1 Tbsp linseed or hemp oil

Method:

Put all ingredients into a blender and process until nicely smooth. Pour the smoothie into chilled glasses. Enjoy in good company!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Kale is an excellent green to use in your healthy fruit smoothie recipes. Kale is related to cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts and has a flavor that is more suggestive of broccoli. Personally, I prefer to use kale in my green smoothie recipes over spinach because kale helps cut the sweetness of the fruit and delivers more than twice the recommended daily value of calcium than spinach.

Kale is readily available most of the year and is inexpensive. My local supermarket carries it for 99 cents per pound and organic can be found for $2.99 per pound (which is enough to make 3-4 large smoothies).

Nutrition and Health Benefits

Kale contains beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin (a carotenoid similar to lutein), calcium and fiber. A sulfur-containing phytonutrient in kale called sulforaphane is believed to have powerful anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-microbial properties and is released when the leaves are chopped or chewed (or blended in a green smoothie!)

Kale also contains powerful antioxidants that help protect against certain cancers such as ovarian cancer. Kale is an excellent green to use for detox smoothies as it has cleansing properties. The nutrients in kale help protect against cataracts while promoting healthy lungs, cardiovascular health and boosts the immune system. Kale has anti-inflammatory properties making it an excellent food for those with rheumatoid arthritis.

How To Select Kale

Select kale with deeply colored green leaves that are firm and do not show signs of wilting, yellowing or browning. Kale is readily available year round. Since kale ranks highly for pesticide residue (ranking 69 out of 100) according to research conducted by the Environmental Working Group, I recommend that you use organic kale whenever possible.

Using Kale In Green Smoothies

Kale has a slightly stronger flavor than baby spinach, so if you are not used to green smoothies, you might want to use strongly flavored fruit such as strawberries or pineapple to help mask the flavor. You can also slowly introduce kale into your smoothie recipes and increase the amount to two cups per recipe over time. I enjoy the flavor of kale in my green smoothies. Kale has a firmer texture than spinach as well, so you might need to blend your shake slightly longer if you are not using a high-end Vita-Mix or Blendtec blender.

~ Kale smoothie with coconut and strawberries ~

Ingredients:

meat and 1 cup of water from a young, Thai coconut

1 whole orange, peeled

2 cups kale

3-4 large strawberries

Method:

Put all ingredients into a blender. Blend until rich and smooth. This smoothie recipe contains over 30% of your daily value of calcium and is a great complement to a healthy breakfast. Enjoy in good company !

Tip: If you cannot get the young coconut, use coconut water and coconut cream instead.

worth reading

Today, more than ninety five percent of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise. - Mike Adams

Vitamin B12 for vegans!

Your health is what you make of it. Everything you do and think either adds to the vitality, energy and spirit you possess or takes away from it. - Ann Wigmore

Be Like A Pineapple T-Shirt

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. - Luciano Pavarotti

Why chose raw food?

The raw food diet, also known as the living food diet, is a diet primarily based on pure, unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed. While many people on raw food are vegans, some do not necessarily exclude other raw foods such as raw eggs, raw honey, raw milk, meat and fish.

The raw food diet consists of 75 - 100 percent raw foods and may include some foods that are cooked or baked. For a better absorption of nutrients raw diet should also include raw fermented foods.

It is important to understand that heating food above 118°F or 47°C destroys most of the enzymes that normally assist in the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. On the energy level, cooking is believed to diminish the nutritional value and the "life force" of food thus making cooked and processed foods energetically less valuable to the body.

Proponents of the raw food diet believe it has numerous health benefits, including:

For many people raw food means more than a way to obtain nutrition. It is a joyful lifestyle they embrace consciously, knowing that it will lead them to a better mental and physical health and a much happier life.

Radish Detox Smoothie

Health, excellent or ill, is passed to our children not just through our genes but primarily through our recipes. - Joanne L. Mumola Williams

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